Switch



Den. 1, 19 %2.

H. HILL SWITCH Filed March 15, 1940 Jvsam Patented Dec. 1, 1942 SWITCH Robert H. Hill, Anderson, Ind., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a cor- Doration of Delaware --Application March 15, 1940, Serial No. 324,024

3 Claims.

This invention relates to electrical switches and more particularly to electrical switches for automobile use. The present day automobiles do not use switches to any extent where the face of the switch is used as a dial in cooperation with a switch handle to indicate the various 'on positions as well as the of! positions. The practice has been to provide certain movable and stationary parts of the switch with cooperating detent members, usually a button carried by a switch contact carrier and urged by a spring into a recess carried by a stationary part. When the switch handle is moved from oil position to the first lighting circuit position, the button snaps into the recess with sufficient snap action to be perceived by the sense of feeling. Similarly, when the switch is moved into the second lighting position, the driver will feel a second snap action. There will be a third snap action if the switch is moved into a third position and so on depending upon the number of switch positions. The driver becomes so accustomed to this type of switch that he can tell usually the position of the switch by counting the number of snap actions which he feels as he moves the switch handle from off position. Usually the first snap action from oil position will indicate that the lights are in park condition; the second snap action will indicate that the lights are in 1 condition for city driving and the third snap action will indicate that the lights are in position for country driving. Obviously, the detent should be spring urged into a recess with pressure sufiicient to make this snap action perceivable even to a driver who does not have a very keen sense of feeling. However, the spring pressure should not be so great as to unduly resist movement of the switch.

In order that this type of switch may be entirely acceptable to the trade, it should be constructed so that when the switch handle is moved from one position to the next, the resistance encountered should be at the minimum, so that the snap action will be more pronounced and in no case will the operator mistake resistance to movement of the switch handle between contact making position for this snap action.

Therefore, it is the aim and object of the present invention to provide for the support of the contact carrier in such a manner that frictional resistance will be reduced to the minimum and the movement between contact making positions will take place with feeling of smoothness; Only in this way will the driver know positively that the switch is in a contact making position. In

order to accomplish this object I provide a ball 'ri'ers having linear movement or rotary movement.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention are clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a switch embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of line 2--2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and .5 are sectional views on lines 4fl, 5-5, respectively of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a modified form showing a switch of the rotary type.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 88 of Fig, 7.

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the switch shown in Fig. '7.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view on line |0-l,0 of Fig. 6.

I will now describe with referenceto Fig. l to Fig. 5 inclusive, the form of switch having a. linearly moving contact carrier. The switch housing 20 is formed of sheet metal into a channel shaped body having tangs 2| received by notches in a cover 22 of insulating material, which cover supports stationary contact and terminal members 23, each having a recess 24. By bending the with its movable contacts is assembled with the case 20. The carrier 25 is molded of plastic insulating material such as Bakelite and it provides a handle 26 which projects through a slot 21 provided by the case 20. Carrier 25 is provided also with pairs or recesses or pockets 28 for receiving the tangs 29 of movable contacts so provided with buttons 31 which slide along the inner surface of the cover 22 and snap into the recesses 24 of said contacts 23. The contact buttons 3| are urged against the cover 22 by spring 32 received by pockets 33 provided by the carrier 25. As the buttons 3| slide along the inner surface of the cover 22, the frictional resistance is rler 25 may add very little to the resistance to movement of the buttons 3| along the plate 12 and in order that the movement of the switch carrier may be as smooth as possible, I purposely avoid direct contact between the carrier 25 and the walls of the switch case by the inter position of ball bearings 40 which are received by pockets 4| provided by the carrier and which fit into the corners of the channel shaped case 20. The pockets II are of a length sufficient to permit the rolling of the balls 40 without their coming into contact with the end surfaces which define the pockets 4|. The corners of the channel shaped body 20 are easily formed accurately by suitable dies. Consequently the balls 40 will fit without lost motion between the carrier 25 and these corner surfaces which accurately serve as an outer race for these balls 40. This nice fitting of the balls 40 within the case 20 can be obtained although, in the attaching of the cover 22 to the case, the side walls may be sprung somewhat out of parallelism.

I have found that this type of ball bearing sup-.

port for the contact carrier is one which provides absolute freedom of movement within the minimum of frictional resistance. Therefore, the switch has a very smooth action between its off and its contact making positions whereby the snap action between the detent buttons 3| and the stationary contact recesses 24 is very pronounced.

I will now describe with reference to Figs. 6 to 10 inclusive, the embodiment of my invention in a switch having a rotary contact carrier. The switch case 60 is cup-shaped and it is attached to a stationary contact support in any suitable manner by means of tangs 62 of the case 80 cooperating with notches provided by the cover 6|, the tangs being bent over at 62a, Fig. 9, to retain the cover in position. The cover 6| supports a plurality of terminal and contact members 63, each provided with a detent recess 64. However, before the assemblage of cover and case is made, a contact carrier and associated parts are assembled within the case 60. The carrier 65 is generally circular in formation and is provided with a shaft 66 to which a handle 61 is attached after the carrier has been assembled within the case. The carrier is provided with one or more movable contacts 10, each having a pair of tangs 'Il received by pockets [2 in the carrier 65, (Fig. 10). Each contact 10 is provided with detent buttons 13 which are urged against the inner surface of the cover Si by spring 14 received by a pocket 15,

provided by the carrier 65. In this way the detent buttons 13 are caused to snap into the contact recesses 64 whenever the contacts 10 are moved into a circuit making position. Just as in the form of switch shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the contact carrier 65 is maintained out of engagement with the walls of the case 80 by means of spaced ball bearings 80 received by pockets 8| provided by the carrier 65. As the annular corner portion of the cup shaped switch case 60 may be accurately formed by forming dies, it serves as an outer bearing race for the balls 80. Therefore, the carrier 65 is confined within the switch case in such a manner that lateral and endwise motion is taken up, while providing bearings which permit movement of the carrier 65 with a very smooth action and with the minimum of friction, just as in the case of the carrier having linear movements shown in the first form of the present invention.

In both forms of the invention the ball bearings are urged into the corner positions of the switch case by the resilient springs 32 or 14 which also urge the movable contacts into engagement with the switch covers and the stationary contacts. In this way, all endwise play is taken up and the balls cooperate with the carrier and the walls of the switch case to take up any lateral lost motion between the carrier and switch case.

In both forms of my invention I have provided by very simple and economical construction for the movement of the switch operating member from the of! position to and between any of the on positions with the maximum of smoothness and the minimum of frictional resistance, thereby making the snap action attended upon the arrival of the carrier at any contact making position, the more pronounced and more effective as an indicator that the. switch operating member is in a contact making position. In other words, the car driver can depend upon his sense of feeling to determine that the contact carrier is in a circuit making position without even looking at the switch handle to determine its position.

While the embodiments of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. An electric switch comprising, a housing having a flat wall and side wall means merging with the fiat wall to provide bearing outer races at rounded corner portions, said flat wall having an opening; a non-conducting body having spaced pockets at corner edges thereof which are adjacent the bearing outer races to provide bearing inner races; ball bearings arranged for reciprocatory movement between the races, said balls spacing the body from the flat wall and from the side wall means and guiding the body in parallelism with the outer races, said balls also limiting lateral movement of the body within the housing; a base attached to the side wall means; stationary contacts carried by the base; movable contacts movable with the body; spring means disposed between the movable contacts and the body, said spring means urging the movable contact toward the base and the body toward the fiat wall, and taking up lost-motion between the balls and the races; and means for moving the body and extending through the opening in the flat wall of the housing; and cooperating provisions provided by the body and housing for limiting the movements of the body within the housmg.

2. An electric switch, comprising, a flat strip of sheet metal formed into a U-shaped housing having a yoke and side arms merging in rounded corners which define bearing outer races, the yoke having an elongated opening between the races; a carrier comprising a rectangular body of non-conducting material loosely positioned between the arms of the housing and having spaced pockets which are adjacent the outer bearing races to provide bearing inner races; ball bearings arranged for reciprocatory movement between the races, said bearings spacing the body from the arms and the yoke and guiding the body in parallelism with the outer races and for preventing the body from moving sidewise between the arms; a base attached to the arms; stationary contacts carried by the base; movable contacts movable with the body; and spring means disposed between the movable contacts and the body, said spring urging the movable contacts toward the base and the body toward the yoke whereby to keep the balls in engagement with the outer race, said springs permitting the movable contacts to move relative to the body asthe contacts move into and out of engagement with the stationary contacts and means for moving the body and extending through the opening in the flat wall of the housing; and cooperating provisions provided by the body and housing for limiting the movements of the body within the housing.

3. An electric switch, comprising, a cup-shaped metal housing having an opening formed in the closed end wallthereof, the corners of the housing being rounded so as to serve as hearing outer 1 races; a rotary body loosely located within the housing and having spaced notches on the corner edge thereof which are adjacent the outer bearing races to provide inner bearing races; ball bearings arranged for reciprocatory movement between the races and for spacing the body free 01' all walls of the housing, said balls guiding the body in parallelism with the outer bearing races in its bodily movements and preventing the body from moving sidewise within the housing; a closure attached to the housing; stationary contacts carried by the closure; movable contacts movable with the body; spring means disposed between the contacts and the body for urging the movable contacts toward the closure and the body toward the closed end of the housing to hold the bearings in rolling contact with the outer bearing races; and means for moving th body and extending through the opening in the flat wall of the housing; and cooperating provisions provided by the body and housing for limiting the movements of the body within the housing.

I ROBERT H. HILL. 

